Intel has begun rolling out software binaries compiled with support for upcoming Advanced Performance Extensions (APX) and Advanced Vector Extensions 10 (AVX10) instruction set extensions in their Clear Linux distribution, ahead of any processors officially supporting these capabilities launching. Clear Linux is focusing first on optimized APX and AVX10 versions of foundational software libraries like glibc and Python. This builds on Clear Linux's existing support for optimized x86-64-v2, v3, and v4 code paths, leveraging the latest microarchitectural features of each Intel CPU generation. The rationale is to prepare Clear Linux to fully leverage the performance potential of next-generation Intel Xeon server processors, code-named Granite Rapids, expected to launch later this year.

Granite Rapids will introduce AVX10.1/512 instructions as well as the new APX capabilities, which are currently not well documented implementation wise. By rolling out APX/AVX10 support in software now, Clear Linux aims to have an optimized ecosystem ready when the new processors officially ship. Initially, APX and AVX10 support is being added using the existing GCC compiler. Still, Clear Linux notes they will transition to using the upcoming GCC 14 release with more mature support for these instruction sets. The goal is to eventually have many Clear Linux packages compiled with APX/AVX10 code paths to maximize performance on future Intel CPUs. This continues Clear Linux's strategy of leveraging Intel's latest hardware capabilities in software.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have announced the postponement of their agreed merger deadline—from July 18 (yesterday) to mid-October. This will grant them more time to deal with a sticky issue presented by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocking of the proposed $75 billion acquisition—on the grounds of potential deleterious effects within the cloud gaming market. Xbox boss, Phil Spencer made a short statement on the matter earlier today: "Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have extended the merger agreement deadline to 10/18. We're optimistic about getting this done, and excited about bringing more games to more players everywhere."

Lulu Cheng Meservey, CCO and EVP Corporate Affairs at Activision Blizzard, stated: "The recent decision in the U.S. and approvals in 40 countries all validate that the deal is good for competition, players, and the future of gaming. Given global regulatory approvals and the companies' confidence that CMA now recognizes there are remedies available to meet their concerns in the UK, the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft boards of directors have authorized the companies not to terminate the deal until after October 18. We're confident in our next steps and that our deal will quickly close."

Kolink has brought back one of their fan-favourite PC cases, this time with fancy improvements. Meet the Kolink Inspire K2 Plus! Whilst many features remain the same - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, amiright? - there are a number of ease-of-use upgrades integrated within the design. Plus, an aesthetic glow-up. We all love a glow-up. If your Micro-ATX case is looking a bit shabby or you're itching to start a new build, stick around and see how this classic Kolink chassis has been improved. There may even be some surprise cables, too!

What's New
The Kolink Inspire K2 Plus builds on the much-loved design of its predecessor. There are subtle and more obvious changes that have been made to the chassis. The internals have been improved to facilitate better component support. Enjoy superior accommodation for your high-end hardware and integrated radiator mounts. New features have even been added. Unlike the original K2, this version sports a dedicated PSU chamber to help maintain temperatures and keep the interior looking clutter-free.

Today, Intel announced the 2023 release of the Intel oneAPI tools - available in the Intel Developer Cloud and rolling out through regular distribution channels. The new oneAPI 2023 tools support the upcoming 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Intel Xeon CPU Max Series and Intel Data Center GPUs, including Flex Series and the new Max Series. The tools deliver performance and productivity enhancements, and also add support for new Codeplay plug-ins that make it easier than ever for developers to write SYCL code for non-Intel GPU architectures. These standards-based tools deliver choice in hardware and ease in developing high-performance applications that run on multiarchitecture systems.

"We're seeing encouraging early application performance results on our development systems using Intel Max Series GPU accelerators - applications built with Intel's oneAPI compilers and libraries. For leadership-class computational science, we value the benefits of code portability from multivendor, multiarchitecture programming standards such as SYCL and Python AI frameworks such as PyTorch, accelerated by Intel libraries. We look forward to the first exascale scientific discoveries from these technologies on the Aurora system next year."
-Timothy Williams, deputy director, Argonne Computational Science Division

Intel's future Meteor Lake APUs seem to be playing catch-up to AMD's integrated graphics in more ways than one. Twitter user Coelacanth's Dream has dug up information that indicates Intel's commitment to bring ray tracing support to even its IGP (Integrated Graphics Processing) tiles. According to bits and pieces from Intel Graphics Compiler (IGC) code patches, it seems to be confirmed that ray tracing support is indeed coming to the TSMC-made, 3 nm GPU tiles in Meteor Lake. The kicker here is the presence of flags that detect whether the iGPU is of the "iGFX_meteorlake" type - if so, IGC sets ray tracing support to enabled.

Puzzlingly, Intel's upscaling technology, Xe SuperSampling (XeSS) could be out of the picture - at least for now. It seems that IGC patches for the upcoming APU family still don't allow for DPAS (Dot Product Accumulate Systolic) instructions - instructions that rely on XMX (Intel Xe Matrix Extensions), the AI engines responsible for executing 128 FP16/BF16, 256 INT8, or 512 INT4/INT2 operations per clock. These low-precision operations are the soul of algorithmic supersampling technologies such as XeSS.

Amazon's AWS division has been making Graviton processors for a few years now, and the company recently announced its Graviton3 design will soon to available in the cloud. Today, we are witnessing a full launch of the Graviton3 CPUs with the first instances available in the AWS Cloud. In theC7g instances, AWS customers can now scale their workloads across 1-64 vCPU instance variants. Graviton3's 64 cores run at 2.6 GHz clock speed, 300 GB/sec maximum memory bandwidth, DDR5 memory controller, 64 cores, seven silicon die chiplet-based design, 256-bit SVE (Scalable Vector Extension), all across 55 billion transistors. Paired with up to 128 GiB of DDR5 memory, these processors are compute-intensive solutions. AWS noted that the company used a monolithic computing and memory controller logic design to reduce latency and improve performance.

One interesting thing to note is the motherboard that AWS hosts Graviton3 processors in. Usually, server motherboards can be single, dual, or quad-socket solutions. However, AWS decided to implement a unique solution with three sockets. This tri-socket setup is designed to see each CPU as an independent processor, managed by a Nitro Card, which can handle exactly three CPUs. The company notes that the CPU is now in general availability with C7g instances and you can see it below.

LIAN LI Industrial Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of chassis and PC accessories, announces its new series of ARGB extension cables with the STRIMER PLUS V2. Available for motherboard 24-pin connectors, GPU 8-pin (2x6+2-pin), and GPU triple 8-pin (3x6+2-pin), the STRIMER PLUS V2 offers improved brightness with a new side light diffuser, better flexibility with silicon-wrapped power cables, upgraded compatibility with isolated connectors at the GPU end, and introducing native software control and independent light channel customization with L-Connect 3.

Located along each side of the RGB part of the STRIMER PLUS V2 are two bands of light-diffusion strips, allowing the light effects to shine in more directions and fill the PC with bright RGB. In addition, the 2.1 mm wide top diffuser strips allow for smooth light distribution and maximum brightness. The extension cable part of the STRIMER PLUS V2 is arranged in a single, flat row, making the overall thickness thinner than ever at 8 mm (previously 11 mm). Each 18 gauge power cable is also wrapped in durable silicone. The combination of the new material and single row of power cable makes the STRIMER PLUS V2 more flexible for tighter bends, and slimmer and easier to pass through tight cable grommets.

Tech innovator GELID Solutions unveils the latest ARGB extension cable series featuring sophisticated lighting and 18 AWG multilayer single sleeved wiring. The ASTRA is a product of GELID Solutions GAMER product line. The ASTRA comes with the special braided fiber-optic module and 24 ultra-bright RGB LEDs (16 RGB LEDs in the 8-Pin/16-Pin cable version) boasting unboundedly vivid RGB lighting. It's super easy to install, also easy to flex and bend, and the cable assembly is tailored to a thickness of just 20 mm to ensure hassle-free connectivity to your motherboard and GPU.

The cable wiring is built upon 18 AWG copper wires and carries multilayer single sleeving to provide enhanced reliability, improved heat resistance and better power efficiency. The ASTRA features ARGB Sync via the two integrated 3-Pin ARGB cables and supports all modern motherboards with addressable RGB functions: ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI or ASRock. You can use any lighting preset or design your own vivid flaring effects with compatible ARGB software. Additionally, the integrated ARGB cables are complemented by daisy-chain headers and protective cable-caps to facilitate connectivity inside your PC.

Intel today unveiled the suite of new security features for the upcoming 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable platform, code-named "Ice Lake." Intel is doubling down on its Security First Pledge, bringing its pioneering and proven Intel Software Guard Extension (Intel SGX) to the full spectrum of Ice Lake platforms, along with new features that include Intel Total Memory Encryption (Intel TME), Intel Platform Firmware Resilience (Intel PFR) and new cryptographic accelerators to strengthen the platform and improve the overall confidentiality and integrity of data.

Data is a critical asset both in terms of the business value it may yield and the personal information that must be protected, so cybersecurity is a top concern. The security features in Ice Lake enable Intel's customers to develop solutions that help improve their security posture and reduce risks related to privacy and compliance, such as regulated data in financial services and healthcare.

SilverStone today rolled out the PP07E line of PSU cable extensions. The lineup mainly consists of two color schemes - all black and black+white. The extensions feature individually-braided cables with 0.08 mm-thick ultra-fine copper, that's extremely malleable and can be bent into complex shapes. Rubber forms the main insulation, with a Nylon-weave braided outer sheath. SilverStone includes plastic combs to help you bunch the individual cables up.

The lineup includes the PP07E-MBBW, which is a 24-pin ATX extension with black and white (alternating) cables. The PP07E-MBB is its all-black twin. The PP07E-EPS8BW is a 4+4 pin EPS extension with black and white cables, while the PP07E-EPS8B is its all-black variant. The PP07E-PCIBW is a white+black 6+2 pin PCIe power extension, while the PP07E-PCIB is its all-black variant. The company didn't reveal pricing. All extensions in the series have 30 cm length (connector to connector). The company didn't reveal pricing.

COVID-19 has brought many industries in the world to an almost standstill as quarantine mechanisms are put in place in both public and private sectors. The economic impact of the - now declared pandemic by the World Health Organization - outbreak will likely be felt for years to come. Thank to that globalization and the interconnectedness of various markets, including the global supply chain.

In light of this, MSI has decided to extend the warranty period for products falling in the categories of desktops, motherboards, AIO computers, PC cases and monitors (this excludes graphics cards and laptops, which are also quite important in the overall companies' outlook). Furthermore, this warranty extension is limited to countries that have been the most affected by the recent outbreak - U.S., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

1stPlayer unveiled quite a few new products this Computex, beginning with the Steampunk line of power supplies and power accessories. The Steampunk series consists of fully-modular PSUs in upper-mid range capacities such as 750W. These PSUs come in two physical variants, all-black, and white with RGB-LED illuminated 140 mm fans. Like most other PSUs launched this year, the 750W Steampunk includes two 4+4 pin EPS connectors, besides four 6+2 pin PCIe power, six SATA power, and three Molex. A single +12V rail design and most common electrical protections make for the rest of it.

1stPlayer also unveiled a series of Steampunk-branded PSU extension cables purchasable separately from the PSUs. These include colorful fiber braided sleeved individual cables of various shapes and sizes (24-pin, 8-pin EPS, 6+2-pin PCIe, etc.,), or illuminated cables with addressable RGB LED lighting up each cable.

ARCTIC presents the latest edition of its popular Z and Z Pro monitor arm series while also introducing the all new W1C wall mount. All products are available now in stores and in the ARCTIC Webshop.

The new Gen 3 models of the monitor mounts - Z1 (Gen 3), Z2 (Gen 3), Z1 Pro (Gen 3), Z2 Pro (Gen 3) and Z3 Pro (Gen 3) - are characterized by maximum load capacity, endless flexibility, a simple mounting system and high-quality manufacturing. With a new matte black finish and reworked cable management, the Gen 3 monitor arms differ both visually and functionally from their predecessors. All Gen 3 models have an easily accessible USB hub with four ports and are suitable for both large screens and ultrawide monitors. Extensions are available for the Z Pro Gen 3 series, which allow users to mount one or two additional monitors on top. In addition, the Pro models come with a Micro-USB power supply.

CORSAIR, a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the availability of a wide range of new PC enthusiast accessories to help complete the look of a custom PC: CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cables, Premium Sleeved Front Panel Extension Kit, Premium Sleeved SATA Cable, Premium PCIe 3.0 x16 Extension Cable, and TM30 Performance Thermal Paste. From custom paracord cables available in a range of colors, to flexible PCIe mounting and dependable thermal paste, the new range of accessories are the perfect way to build and complete a stunning professional-looking custom PC.

Today Lian-Li launches the Strimer a 24 Pin cable extension including full addressable RGB lighting module created in collaboration will world renowned overclocker and modder Der8auer. The innovative 24-pin ATX extension cable was honoured with the Computex design and innovation award for being the first of its type.

The two layer cable design comes with a PCI bracket controller through which users can change through 10 different RGB pre set modes as well as a digital RGB addressable header for those with the compatible motherboards.

EVGA today announced that they're starting a special, limited-time promotion on most of its PSU line-up. The offer, which lasts from tomorrow, June 5th, until December 31st 2018, will see the warranty period on specific families of EVGA PSUs automatically extended to up to 12 years of Limited Warranty. EVGA says this is a testament on their confidence in their own PSUs and their ability to withstand continuous usage throughout the years.

There are some tiers to this "automatic" warranty extension, however. Namely, different power supply families will see varying increases in their warranty periods - a way of acknowledging different longevity and quality of more expensive, more premium PSUs as well. As it stands, EVGA's -L Suffix graphics cards will see an upgrade to 4 Year Limited Warranty; -K Suffix PSUs to a 5 Year Limited Warranty; -V Suffix will be upgraded to a 7 Year Limited Warranty; -Y Suffix to 9 years; and finally, -X suffix will see the biggest increase to the maximum 12 years Limited Warranty. The increase amounts to 2 additional years of coverage period for each suffix of power supplies, but leaves out some PSUs in EVGA's catalog - namely -BR, -RX, and -RB suffixes. So pay good attention to what PSU you're buying if you're counting on getting an extended warranty for this critical component of your new - or revamped - build.